TIAX Awarded Contract to Reduce Emissions of Heavy Duty Trucks Through Vehicle Replacement Initiative

IRVINE, Calif.--July 22, 2004--

Contract part of Gateway Cities Clean Air Program to decrease air pollution and increase use of environmentally sound and cost effective vehicles

TIAX, a leading collaborative product and technology development firm, today announced it has been awarded a $477,000, 15-month contract extension from the Gateway Cities Clean Air Program to continue overseeing the replacement of heavy-duty trucks in the Los Angeles area with newer, lower-emission vehicles.

Since August of 2002, TIAX has been responsible for coordinating the replacement of approximately 250 heavy-duty trucks under a multi-phased, $1.2 million contract from the Clean Air Program. Over the next year, it is expected that approximately 100 more of these older, high-emitting heavy-duty trucks will be replaced. Collectively, truckers who use these vehicles make tens of thousands of trips to and from the two major container ports in the region (Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach).

"In addition to reducing air pollution in Southern California and around the Ports, the Clean Air Program serves as a model initiative to assist in the improvement of air quality in the most heavily impacted communities across America," said Jon Leonard, project manager at TIAX for the Gateway Cities Clean Air Program. "Over the past two years, TIAX has been a central partner in ensuring the success of the Clean Air Program, and we look forward to continuing this beneficial partnership into the future."

The Clean Air Program was created to provide financial incentives to help reduce air pollution in the Gateway Cities region of Southern California, where an estimated 70 percent of cancer-linked air toxins result from diesel emissions. Through the program, commercial truck owners, who trade in their older diesel trucks (pre-1984) for newer models with cleaner-burning engines (1994 or newer), are partially reimbursed for the cost of the newer truck. Truck owners who qualify receive an average grant of $20,000 to $25,000 to be used towards the purchase of a newer truck, and the old truck is destroyed. Funding comes from a collaborative of government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.

"TIAX is proud to be part of this unique project and honored to be working with organizations such as the Gateways Cities Council of Government and the California Air Resources Board, that are committed to finding solutions to improve public health," said Kenan Sahin, President of TIAX.

Under the new contract, TIAX will continue to broker agreements between truck owners and the Clean Air Program to ensure that candidates meet grant requirements and program guidelines. Among other requirements, truck owners must demonstrate that their pre-1984 truck has been used commercially for at least two years in the South Coast Air Basin, which includes all of Orange County and the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.

The long-term goal of the Clean Air Program is to replace 3,000 existing heavy-duty vehicles, which represents approximately half of the pre-1984 truck fleet in Los Angeles County. Through this replacement, it is estimated that 2,400 tons of "NOx" (oxides of nitrogen, a smog precursor) emissions and 600 tons of diesel particulate matter (soot) will be eliminated each year for the five-year assumed life of the project.

About the Gateway Cities Clean Air Program

The Gateway Cities Clean Air Program is managed by the Gateway Cities Council of Governments (GCCOG) in cooperation with the Port of Long Beach, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Mobile Source Review Committee, the Port of Los Angeles and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. To date, approximately $15 million in funding has been provided by these agencies. For information on the Gateway Cities Clean Air Program and participating dealers, call the Clean Air Program information line at (800) 800-4414 or visit the Gateway Cities Council of Governments website at http://www.gatewaycog.org/.

About TIAX LLC

TIAX LLC (pronounced Tie-ax) is a leading collaborative product and technology development firm that accelerates innovation to help its clients create an impact in the market--and in people's lives. We integrate business, industry, and hands-on technology expertise to transform ideas into products and problems into solutions. Formed out of Arthur D. Little's Technology & Innovation business, TIAX (www.tiaxllc.com) builds on more than a century of breakthrough innovation and client success using collaborative R&D. TIAX was selected as a Technology Pioneer 2003 by the World Economic Forum and is ISO 9001 certified with more than 50 research and development laboratories.